


Porn in 1984

by Kinah_Jala



Category: Original Work
Genre: GCSB, Gen, Meta, We are being watched
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-08-09
Updated: 2013-08-09
Packaged: 2017-12-22 22:10:58
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,038
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/918611
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kinah_Jala/pseuds/Kinah_Jala
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Thanks to Edward Snowden over in America, and the Kim Dotcom case over here in NZ, we should all be aware that Big Brother Is Watching You. The government can see, is seeing, every little thing you do on the internet, everything you text, everyone you call. That’s a terrifying thought. </p><p>So what do they think of the porn you watch?</p><p>A serious commentary of the impact the Watchers can have on your life and a consideration of their right to do so.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Porn in 1984

**Author's Note:**

> This was initially an email I sent to some friends, I wanted to make it available on a wider scale.

Thanks to Edward Snowden over in America, and the Kim Dotcom case over here in NZ, we should all be aware that Big Brother Is Watching You. The government can see, is seeing, every little thing you do on the internet, everything you text, everyone you call. That’s a terrifying thought. Nowadays, almost everything we do is documented somehow on the internet - be it through Google Calendar, Selfies or a friend’s blog. People are reading those, seeing those. They are able to watch everything you do on the internet - whatever you google, whatever you read. 

 

What's more, they're making decisions based on that. There was a scandal in England about a boy who (as an angsty, angry teenager) sent a frustrated text to a friend about 'burning America'. Years later, he found that he couldn't work in America, couldn't email Americans, couldn't fly to America. Someone, somewhere, had seen that text and blacklisted him. Once, my American Aunt sent an email to some friends with a satirical image of President Bush. All her friends got it - except for the Americans. Ever since then, she has not been able to email anyone in America. 

 

You are being watched and if the Watchers don't like what you are doing, they can ruin your life.

 

You don't know if you've been blacklisted. There's no chance to explain or defend yourself. It's a completely arbitrary decision made by someone you don't know, who doesn't know you. It can ruin your life and there's nothing you can do to defend against it. Right now in New Zealand, there's a new law being pushed through with almost illegal speed. If it passes, the GCSB - our spy agency - will be able to spy on New Zealanders, collect private information from their phones, iPods and laptops then present that as evidence in court.

 

For instance, porn. Do you really want the judge, jury and media to be told about what you watch or read while masturbating? Even if you're never pulled up in court, even if porn isn't 'valid' evidence - as I've said, the Watchers out there have the power to ruin your life.

 

People are watching what porn you look at, then making decisions about you that can ruin your life.

 

Oh, there's no question that people look at porn, especially teenagers. There's a million open secrets about how so-and-so has filled up their flash drive with porn. There are websites devoted to it (under the guise of 'fanfiction'). 30% of the internet is devoted to it. _Porn is a fact of life._ A fact that's whispered about, laughed about, sneered about - but still a fact. 

 

So, people look at porn. And people watch people look at porn. What if the Watchers don't like your porn?

 

There are millions of different kinks out there, many of which are totally incomprehensible to other people. BDSM. Cross dressing. Humiliation. Infantilism. Even plain homosexuality. These kind of kinks are typically kept under wraps from the general populace – in places such as fanfiction. A guy doesn't tend to tell his boss he spends they weekends dressed up in high heels and corsets. You keep your kinks for the bedroom - and failing that, the internet. 

 

But now there are people watching the internet. 

 

What if there's a homophobic Watcher who happens across a homosexual looking at porn? Just as there are millions of different kinks, there are just as many people who are willing to hate people with those kinks. Not so many years ago, capital punishment was the main 'justice' bestowed on homosexuals. Now, it could be blacklisting. Anybody working as a Watcher could easily find someone looking at porn and think 'I don't want to work with someone who's into that. I don't think it's safe.'

 

BAM. Blacklisted. 

 

What this doesn’t acknowledge is that any fantasies are just that; fantasies. Or that one of the primary tenets of BDSM is ‘Safe, Sane, Consensual’.  Or that people look at porn on dares. Or that some fanficporns are just plain funny to read.

 

Because of the secrecy that shrouds these things, I couldn't quite tell you what 'blacklisted' means. It might mean you're exiled from America. It might mean you can never hold a job and you're excluded from the dole. It might mean you quietly disappear one day when nobody's looking. All I know is that it's bad and it's real. 

 

This is especially relevant to me, as a teenager (and as an avid fanfictioner). I know that several of us on fanfiction- me included - have personal kinks we want to stay personal or at least anonymous. Even if we don't, as a teenager I’m exploring. That much can be taken for granted. Forget sexuality (and the homophobic Watcher) – there are other things to look at. Bondage, dominance, submission - everything I said before. Even if I’m not precisely 'into' it - it's new, it's exciting and it's banned. It's a chance to rebel. Something to giggle at and think 'I know something you don't. I might not be explaining it right, but I’m sure you all know the feeling I'm talking about. Besides, you don't need to be homosexual to enjoy homoerotica.

 

And yet, if we do that - if we dare, if we rebel, or if we just sit down with a fantasy story that we'd never want to become a reality - are we doing something that may ruin the rest of our lives? My teenage years are a time for exploration, for daring do. There will always be consequences, some major, some minor. But for reading porn? It's something almost everyone does, it's just the kink that changes. That doesn't mean people don't judge it - they do. They always do. Many are also willing to carry out those judgments. That's why kinks and sexualities are kept quiet. But now?

People not only have the ability to judge; _they have the ability to punish arbitrarily._

 

The question is - do they?

 

I would hope that the Watchers at least respect the boundaries that would seem intrinsic to porn. However, with the mystery around these Watchers - who knows?

_We have no way to know what they are doing and no way to defend ourselves against what they are doing._

 

We are powerless.

**Author's Note:**

> If you want to repost/edit this in a different forum, feel free. Just please tell me and send me a link.  
> If you see any problems with this, disagree, or have a suggestion for something else to consider - please tell me.  
> If you have any suggestions for a better summary, I would really appreciate them.
> 
> Also, if anyone is Watching this, a few things to say:  
> Please don't cut off my email access to the states.  
> Please don't keep this email from reaching my friends.  
> Please don't watch me when I read porn.  
> Please don't blacklist me


End file.
